Conflict between spotted-necked otters and fishermen in Hlan River,Benin

The spotted-necked otter (Lutra maculicollis) is believed to be declining across its range and, in Benin,has recently been listed as endangered. In Benin, the spotted-necked otter is largely restricted to thesouth of the country, where it is threatened by a number of factors, including conflict with fishermen.Understanding the nature and extent of this conflict, and the impact that it has on local fishermen, aswell as identifying feasible mitigation strategies, represents a critical challenge for conservation man-agers.This study documents otter damage experienced by 30 fishermen in the Hlan River, in the SouthernBenin wetlands. We performed hierarchical classification analysis using Ward distances to categorize fishspecies according to the level of otter damage suffered, and used generalized linear models to identifypredictors that best explained otter damage. Our results suggest that of the 16 fish species commonlycaught by fishermen in the Hlan River, otters favored the most valuable species (but these were also themost abundant in the catch). However, although otter damage was extensive, monthly total income lossattributable to spotted-necked otter damage (including fish loss and damage to equipment) was esti-mated at only 9% per fishermen (considerably lower than the 30% reported by a preliminary survey of163 fishermen in the same area). Our model showed that otter damage increased significantly with thenumber of adult fish captured by fisherman while the cost of otter damage increased with the length oftime that the fishing equipment was left unattended. We suggest that otter damage could be reduced iffishing equipment were checked at least twice a day by fishermen, and recommend a maximum intervalbetween checks of 700 min (12 h). Long-term sustainable management of these conflicts will require anintegrated approach taking into account socio-economic, political and environmental dimensions.

Actors: 

A.H. Akpona(1)  , C.A.M.S. Djagouna (2),  L.A. Harringtonc (3), A.T. Kabréd (4), G.A. Mensahe (5), B. Sinsin (6).

Adress: 

(1, 2, 6) Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d’Abomey Calavi, 01 B.P. 526, (Benin ) Direction Générale des Forêts et des Ressources Naturelles, B.P. 393 Cotonou, (Benin)

(5)Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Tubney House, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney, Abingdon OX13 5QL, (United Kingdom)

(4)Université Polytechnique de Bobo-Dioulasso, 01 B.P. 1091 Bobo-Dioulasso 01 Faso (Burkina Faso) 

(5) Centre de Recherches Agricoles d’Agonkanmey, Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin, 01 B.P. 2359 Cotonou, (Benin)